Vinson Sailors Inspire Students at STEM Open House

BREMERTON, Wash. (NNS) -- Sailors from Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) participated in a “Stern to STEM” open house for local students and community members in Bremerton, Wash., at Puget Sound Navy Museum, March 29-30.

Nearly two-dozen Sailors volunteered to staff multiple Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) activity stations inside the museum. The two-day event provided Vinson personnel an opportunity to share their experience and knowledge on STEM topics with the local community.

One of the stations involved completing a circuit with a conductive ink pen on a piece of paper in order to turn on a light-emitting diode (LED) with a battery and switch assembly. Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handler) 1st Class Sadi L. Brown from Carl Vinson’s Training Department assisted young visitors with the activity.

“The electrical circuit station works somewhat similar to how the ship runs,” said Brown. “It has one centralized power source that runs through a loop that allows other systems to work throughout the ship.”

Brown said the activity related to how lights on a ship operate, and the station helped him explain to visiting students what the Navy is like.

Carl Vinson crew members staffed 11 activity stations that covered a range of STEM-related subjects from optics experiments to 3D printing. Sailors engaged visiting students on how each station applied to the Navy.

“We are trying to present an overview of the Navy’s mission in hands-on ways that kids can understand and have fun with,” said Carolyn Lane, an educational specialist at the museum who coordinated the event.

“It’s all about motivating the kids,” said Brown. “They see how much you enjoy what you do, so it inspired them. I feel like we have a big influence on these kids and the community as a whole.”

Carl Vinson moved from San Diego to Bremerton in January to undergo scheduled maintenance. The ship is America’s third Nimitz-class aircraft carrier named after one of the longest-serving U.S. congressmen in history who had a profound impact on developing America’s modern naval force.